That's me on the right, playing the electric bass in a local cover band. I'd rather be doing this than working in QuickBooks. And I'm sure you feel the same way, that there are things you'd rather be doing than work in QuickBooks, right?

Problem #2: Bookkeeping is ENTIRELY necessary.

The health and well being of any business depends on several things, one of which is accurate bookkeeping. So I am not suggesting, even for a nano-second, that bookkeeping is not necessary or should be done in a sloppy way just to save time.

Solution: Work smarter, not harder.

I developed a whole slew of tips and tricks to streamline time needed in QuickBooks. Today I will share a few of these secrets with you so you can spend less time there too.

I use hot keys all the time. I think everybody should use them, because they help us spend less time in QuickBooks. If you are a bookkeeper, use them when your boss, supervisor, or client is watching - they look very impressive to people who don't know about them.

For maximum benefit, open your QuickBooks file now and follow along. These keys can be used in any screen, which is what makes them so handy.

To open the Invoice screen press Control I.

To go to the Customer Center, press Control J.

To open the Write Checks screen, press Control W.

To open the Chart of Accounts, press Control A.

To use the Find feature, press Control F.

There are many other hot keys, but I use these five all the time. Train yourself to use them so you can work like the pros do.

Icon-O-Rama - Customize That Icon Bar

The icon bar is that upper area of QuickBooks that has the little images on it. More recent versions of QuickBooks have the icon bar pre-loaded with Home, Customer Center, Vendor Center, Employee Center, Report Center, Online Banking, and Help. We can fill the space to the right of this with our own reports or
other screens. Here's how.

Go to the screen or report you want to see on the icon bar. For example, if we want to add the Make Deposit screen to the icon bar, we navigate to the Make Deposits window. Then:

Click the View menu near the top left corner of QuickBooks. About the fourth choice down it says, "Add 'Make Deposits" to Icon
Bar..."

Click it. The "Add Window to Icon Bar" screen opens. Along the left there is a column of symbols to choose from - pick one, then click OK.

QuickBooks now adds this symbol to the icon bar, and when you click it, it will take you to the Make Deposits window.

If you want to remove something from the icon bar, go back to the View menu and select Customize Icon Bar. You will notice all of the things currently on the icon bar there. Locate the one you want to remove and click Delete. This only deletes it from the icon bar, not from any other area of QuickBooks.

Column Bet - Get Your Columns Organized!

I'm sure you have noticed that the following screens all have columns:

But you may not have known that the columns can be organized so they show information useful to you! Try this to get the hang of it:

Go to the Items List. Locate the button at the bottom of the screen, called Item. Click it. Select Customize Columns, and the Customize Columns window opens.

You can take choices from the left side and move them to the right - this will add those columns to your Items List screen. Or you can take choices on the left and move them to the right - this will remove those columns from your Items List screen. Experiment with which columns work for you. You can alter them at any time.

Remember: you can do this for ANY list in QuickBooks!

Contact me today and let's talk about how to make your life easier in QuickBooks.

Until next time,

Jennifer Thieme
Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor

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